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Q u i c k Q u e s t i o n s
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This Rock
Volume 19, Number 6
 July-August 2008 
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When Is It OK to Avoid Pregnancy?
Q: I have heard that it is acceptable to use NFP for avoiding pregnancy if the reason is serious. Could you please tell me what reasons justify avoiding pregnancy?
A: The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains, "A particular.aspect of [the fecundity of marriage] concerns the regulation of procreation. For just reasons, spouses may wish to space the births of their children" (CCC 2368). But the Catechism does not explicitly define what constitutes "just reasons." Instead, proper determination is left up to the couple: "It is their duty to make certain that their desire is not motivated by selfishness but is in conformity with the generosity appropriate to responsible parenthood" (CCC 2368).
However, the language used in Church documents may be somewhat helpful. For example, Gaudium et Spes states,
[C]ertain modern conditions often keep couples from arranging their married lives harmoniously, and . . . they find themselves in circumstances where at least temporarily the size of their families should not be increased. As a result, the faithful exercise of love and the full intimacy of their lives is hard to maintain. (GS 51)
Humanae Vitae says that a couple may morally space births if there are well-grounded reasons "arising from the physical or psychological condition of husband or wife, or from external circumstances" (HV 16).
Ultimately, each couple must determine for themselves whether "just reasons" truly exist. Vademecum for Confessors Concerning Some Aspects of the Morality of Conjugal Life explains, "Certainly it is a duty of married couples—who, for that matter, should seek appropriate counsel—to deliberate deeply and in a spirit of faith about the size of their family, and to decide the concrete mode of realizing it, with respect for the moral criteria of conjugal life" (2.3).
Parents should regard as their proper mission the task of transmitting human life and educating those to whom it has been transmitted. They should realize that they are thereby cooperators with the love of God the Creator, and are, so to speak, the interpreters of that love. Thus they will fulfill their task with human and Christian responsibility, and, with docile reverence toward God, will make decisions by common counsel and effort. Let them thoughtfully take into account both their own welfare and that of their children, those already born and those which the future may bring. For this accounting they need to reckon with both the material and the spiritual conditions of the times as well as of their state in life. Finally, they should consult the interests of the family group, of temporal society, and of the Church herself. The parents themselves and no one else should ultimately make this judgment in the sight of God. But in their manner of acting, spouses should be aware that they cannot proceed arbitrarily, but must always be governed according to a conscience dutifully conformed to the divine law itself, and should be submissive toward the Church’s teaching office, which authentically interprets that law in the light of the Gospel. That divine law reveals and protects the integral meaning of conjugal love, and impels it toward a truly human fulfillment. (GS 50)
—Jim Blackburn
Q: I have read that it is good to pray to learn your guardian angel’s name. Is this true?
A: The practice of naming guardian angels is discouraged by the Church: "Popular devotion to the holy angels, which is legitimate and good, can, however, also give rise to possible deviations . . . [such as the] practice of assigning names to the holy angels [which] should be discouraged, except in the cases of Gabriel, Raphael, and Michael whose names are contained in Holy Scripture" (Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy 217).
—Michelle Arnold
Q: During the sacrament of confirmation, when a bishop is officiating, some bishops wash their hands with lemon and bread in a bowl filled with water. Why?
A: The lemon cuts the oil quite effectively and the bread is used to dry the hands. It sounds primitive to us. But in the early days of the Church these items were available in most places. Today we have modern means of cleaning the hands, but this reminds us that the Church has been around a long, long time.
Q: When I tell my non-Catholic friends that baptism is necessary for salvation (John 3:5), they usually bring up the fact that there’s nothing in the Bible indicating Jesus baptized anyone. How do I respond?
A: St. Augustine refers to John 19:34, where Christ’s side is pierced by the soldier’s sword and water and blood flowed out:
Here was opened wide the door of life, from which the sacraments of the Church have flowed out, without which there is no entering in unto life which is true life . . . Here the second Adam with bowed head slept upon the cross, that thence a wife might be formed of him, flowing from his side while he slept. O death, by which the dead come back to life! is there anything purer than this blood, any wound more healing!" (On the Gospel of John 120:2)
". . . The blood and water that flowed from the pierced side of the crucified Jesus are types of baptism and the Eucharist, the sacraments of new life. From then on, it is possible ‘to be born of water and the Spirit’ in order to enter the Kingdom of God" (CCC 1225).
—Peggy Frye
Q: A very petite lady could only carry two of her triplets to full term without killing herself and two of them. So she chose to abort one. If she had not, there’d be only one baby with no mother. What should someone do in such a situation?
A: She had another choice, and it is the only right one: She could have chosen to not abort any and put the matter in the Lord’s hands. He is never outdone in generosity. Why is it that we always think of him last?
I know of a case in which the doctors removed a cyst the size of a fist which was next to a baby in the womb. Such surgery always causes a spontaneous miscarriage. But the family prayed and put it in God’s hands. Not only was the baby not expelled from the womb, he is now the priest who is answering this question.
—Fr. Vincent Serpa
Q: Is it OK to work on Sunday?
A: Rest from work is necessary. We know that even God himself rests: "he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done" (Gen. 2:2). In recognition of this, the Church obligates us to rest on the Lord’s day. The Code of Canon Law states, "On Sundays and other holy days of obligation, the faithful are obliged to participate in the Mass. Moreover, they are to abstain from those works and affairs which hinder the worship to be rendered to God, the joy proper to the Lord’s Day, or the suitable relaxation of mind and body" (CIC 1247).
However, the Church also recognizes that legitimate reasons excuse from this obligation. The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains, "Family needs or important social service can legitimately excuse from the obligation of Sunday rest. The faithful should see to it that legitimate excuses do not lead to habits prejudicial to religion, family life, and health" (CCC 2185).
—Jim Blackburn
Q: Why is hell eternal?
A: Hell is eternal both because of the immortal nature of the souls in hell and the eternal quality of the choice that those souls ultimately made to separate themselves from God.
—Michelle Arnold
Q: How does the Catholic Church understand the meaning of "bind and loose" in Matthew 16:19, where Jesus says: "And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven"?
A: The Catechism of the Catholic Church offers these explanations:
- During his public life Jesus not only forgave sins, but also made plain the effect of this forgiveness: he reintegrated forgiven sinners into the community of the People of God from which sin had alienated or even excluded them. A remarkable sign of this is the fact that Jesus receives sinners at his table, a gesture that expresses in an astonishing way both God’s forgiveness and the return to the bosom of the People of God. (CCC 1443)
- In imparting to his apostles his own power to forgive sins, the Lord also gives them the authority to reconcile sinners with the Church. This ecclesial dimension of their task is expressed most notably in Christ’s solemn words to Simon Peter: "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." The office of binding and loosing which was given to Peter was also assigned to the college of the apostles united to its head. (CCC 1444)
- The words bind and loose mean: Whomever you exclude from your communion, will be excluded from communion with God; whomever you receive anew into your communion, God will welcome back into his. Reconciliation with the Church is inseparable from reconciliation with God. (CCC 1445)
—Peggy Frye
Q: How necessary is it to have the sanctuary lamps lit while the Blessed Sacrament is in the tabernacle?
A: The sanctuary lamp is required and not a minor thing. After all, it signifies the sacramental presence of almighty God. What greater significance could a lamp possibly have?
—Fr. Vincent Serpa
Q: How should a Catholic reply to the question, "Have you been saved?"
A: This question is answered in our tract Assurance of Salvation? , which suggests the following reply:
As the Bible says, I am already saved (Rom. 8:24, Eph. 2:5-8), but I’m also being saved (1 Cor. 1:8, 2 Cor. 2:15, Phil. 2:12), and I have the hope that I will be saved (Rom. 5:9-10, 1 Cor. 3:12-15). Like the apostle Paul, I am working out my salvation in fear and trembling (Phil. 2:12), with hopeful confidence in the promises of Christ (Rom. 5:2, 2 Tim. 2:11-13).
—Jim Blackburn
Q: When is it okay to be proud? Can I be "proud" of my Catholic faith? Can I be "proud" of my many years of marriage?
A: Theologically speaking, the term pride is used to describe an excessive or unjustified love for oneself and one’s accomplishments. Colloquially speaking, pride is used to signify pleasure or satisfaction in those things or persons that reflect well on a person or those related to that person. In the colloquial sense, when pride is justified and not excessive, there is nothing wrong with being proud of oneself or of others.
It is more spiritually edifying to cultivate a sense of gratitude rather than pride, particularly when it concerns those things that cannot be credited entirely to one’s own accomplishment. In the examples you gave, it would be better to say that one is grateful for the graces to be Catholic and to have had a successful marriage. Gratitude fosters a sense of humility because it focuses on others—such as God and neighbor—rather than on oneself.
—Michelle Arnold
Q: I am an intersexed Catholic: My karyotype (chromosome test) shows XX, XY, and XXY chromosomes in my body. I have been constantly told I am a transsexual despite my intersexual birth. I am already celibate, but that does not seem enough for many Catholics and other Christians. What must I do?
A: Yours is an unusual cross. You very definitely have a place in the Church. All you can do is make the best of your situation. If others are dissatisfied, that is their problem.
As long as any of us remain chaste and faithful to the Lord, this is what matters most. You are in my prayers.
—Fr. Vincent Serpa
Q: My sister refuses to celebrate holidays and birthdays, saying the Lord told her not to do so. This has hurt our parents, who she refuses to call on special days because she thinks those days are for the worship of individuals instead of God. How do I respond?
A: Although we cannot presume to know your sister’s interior prayer life, you might point out to her that the Lord celebrated holidays during his earthly life (cf. Luke 2:41-43; John 6:3-5, 7:1-10, 10:22-23). In fact, one of the motifs of the Gospel of John is the Jewish holiday cycle.
The purpose of holidays is not to worship days and individuals. It is to set apart time to focus attention on loving God and loving neighbors, the two great commandments (cf. Matt. 22:35-40). As in secular life where we must set aside vacation days to rest and focus our attention on family, so in the spiritual life we must set aside holy days to focus our attention more closely on God and neighbor. If left to our own devices, we might never do it. Because the days are set apart ritually, we don’t have to think about doing it because it’s already been done.
—Michelle Arnold
Q: I am a lector at my local parish. During Lent, we read the Gospel as a dramatic reading: That is, it is proclaimed by a narrator (typically the deacon) and two laypeople—one who reads the part of Jesus and one who reads a speaker part. Is this permissible?
A: Ordinarily only a deacon, priest, or bishop is allowed to proclaim the Gospel at Mass. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee On Divine Worship reminds us that: "The proclamation of the Gospel is reserved to the deacon, if he is present, or to a priest" (Introduction to the Book of the Gospels, 8).
An exception is made during Holy Week, when the laity may join in the reading of the Passion. But the Church stipulates that a priest, who ministers in the person of Christ, must read the words attributed to Christ.
So your parish should not be dramatizing the Gospel on the Sundays of Lent—period. There is no official Church documentation to support such practice.
—Fr. Vincent Serpa
Q: How many times a day can one receive Holy Communion?
A: The Code of Canon Law states that "One who has received the blessed Eucharist may receive it again on the same day only within a eucharistic celebration [Mass] in which that person participates, without prejudice to the provision of canon 921 §2" (CIC 917). "Even if they have already received Holy Communion that same day, it is nevertheless strongly suggested that in danger of death they should communicate again" (CIC 921 §2).
The Canon Law Letter & Spirit commentary on Canon 917 explains:
The 1917 Code allowed the reception of Holy Communion a second time on the same day only in danger of death or in order to avoid irreverence to the blessed Eucharist. Between the end of Vatican II and the Code this regulation was relaxed. After the promulgation of the Code there was some debate as to whether the word again meant twice only or as often as a person attended Mass. A reply from the Code Commission in 1984 made it clear that it means twice only. Consequently the present law is that a person may receive Holy Communion a second time on the same day, but only on the occasion of participating in a Mass—unless of course there is danger of death. (504)
—Peggy Frye
Q: If it is determined by the proper tribunal that a valid marriage never existed, what exactly is an annulment "nullifying"?
A: An annulment is more accurately termed a "declaration of matrimonial nullity" and does not actually nullify anything. Rather, the annulment process determines whether what may appear to be a valid marriage is actually a valid marriage or not. If it is determined that a valid marriage does not exist, then it is declared that the marriage is null—that a valid marriage never existed.
In his book Annulments and the Catholic Church, Edward Peters explains that an annulment is
A juridic determination that, at the time of the wedding, one or both parties to the marriage lacked sufficient capacity for marriage, and/or that one or both parties failed to give adequately their consent to marriage as the Church understands and proclaims it, and/or, in weddings involving at least one Catholic, that the parties violated the Church’s requirements of canonical form in getting married. (1-2)
—Jim Blackburn
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Catholic Answers
